Bad Bunny’s performance at the 2026 Super Bowl wasn’t just a halftime show — it was a declaration of the power of Latin culture that is reverberating across categories, including beauty.
The numbers tell the story: the U.S. Hispanic population has grown since 1970 and shows no signs of slowing. Currently Hispanics are 20 percent of the population, and more than 25 percent of Gens Z and Alpha. Their impact on beauty is already being felt, with Circana reporting the Hispanic spend on beauty to be $23 billion.
To better understand what’s driving this opportunity and how brands and retailers can harness it, Circana and Beauty Inc teamed up for exclusive research for the 2026 WWD Beauty CEO Summit.
Circana polled 2.469 female beauty shoppers, 432 of whom identify as Hispanic. It was immediately clear — the Latina consumer is young and diverse, with 59 percent of the respondents Millennials and Gen Z, with countries including Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain, Cuba and the Dominican Republic all represented.
“Latina beauty consumers aren’t just a segment to target — they’re a future to learn from,” said Larissa Jensen, senior vice president and beauty industry adviser at Circana. “The next era of beauty will belong to brands that deeply listen, reflect lived experience and honor joy in all its complexity, because Latinas aren’t asking the industry to market louder, they’re asking it to understand better.”
Beauty’s Common Denominator: Joy
Seventy-six percent of respondents agreed that “using beauty products brings me joy” versus 64 percent of the total consumer respondents. That number jumps to 81 percent for Latina Gen Z-ers and 83 percent for Latina Millennials.
What Beauty Means to Me
A form of self care: 83%
A way to express confidence: 36%
A way to show up as my authentic self: 26%
A creative outlet: 15%
A connection to my heritage: 10%
A way to carry on traditions passed down through my family: 10%
Fragrance Is Where Joy Shows Up
Gen Z Latinas have the highest experimentation rates and link fragrance with identity. For Millennials, fragrance is a sign of confidence and self care. They rotate between a small wardrobe of trusted scents. Gen X tends toward a signature scent.
75%: Used fragrance in the last year
Top Segments by Dollar Sales
Fragrance
Soap
Skin Care
Shampoo
Top Segments Where Hispanics Over-index
Fragrance Gift Sets
Hair Color
Fragrance
Men’s fragrance
Where They’re Shopping
Specialty and mass retailers are the stores of choice for Latina beauty consumers.
Specialty: 23%
Mass: 23%
Pure Play E-commerce: 18%
Department stores: 9%
Drugstores: 7%
Food Stores: 6%
Other: 12%
Friction Points
Despite their propensity for beauty, there is still a lack of representation.
44% say it is “very important to see people in advertising who share their ethnic background.
16% strongly agree their background is well represented in beauty advertising.
70% of Gen Z and 60% of Millennials would be likely to buy a Latina-owned or founded brand.
But the dollar share of Latina-owned brands is very low:
Fragrance: 6%
Skin Care: 3%
Makeup: 2%
Hair: 2%